


Intense

by moonlights_glow



Category: Criminal Minds (US TV)
Genre: Canon-Typical Violence, F/M, Fluff, Fluff and Angst, it's mostly fluff
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-09-14
Updated: 2020-09-14
Packaged: 2021-03-07 01:54:10
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,580
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26459029
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/moonlights_glow/pseuds/moonlights_glow
Summary: (Y/N) (L/N) transfers to the BAU from the CAC- the Crimes Against Children unit- after five years. To say she was a bit... intense, was an understatement.
Relationships: Derek Morgan/Reader, The BAU Team & Reader
Kudos: 63





	Intense

“Guys, there’s someone I’d like you to meet,” Hotch said, walking into the round table room where the team was gathered. “This is Agent (Y/N) (L/N),” he said as you stepped in behind him. “She’s going to be joining our team.”

You waved to the team. “Hi.”

“Agent (L/N) transferred from the Crimes Against Children unit.”

“Well, welcome to the BAU, Agent (L/N). I’m-”

“SSA David Rossi,” you said. “I know all about you. Katie talked about you a lot. And Jason Gideon.”

“Agent (L/N), this is Dr. Spencer Reid, Agent Emily Prentiss, Agent Derek Morgan, and our press liaison, Agent Jennifer Jareau.”

“It’s good to meet you all.”

“So, the CAC,” Agent Morgan said, “How long were you there?”

“Five years,” you said. 

“Wow, that’s longer than most CAC agents,” Dr. Reid said. “Most only last a year or two.”

“Yeah, well, I liked locking pedophiles away.”

“We’re glad to have you on the team, Agent (L/N),” JJ said. She turned on the screen. “Your background may help us with our new case.”

~ 

You sighed, looking at the picture of the kidnapped boy you were trying to find. 

“Are you okay?” Dr. Reid asked, sitting next to you at the conference table. 

“You know, I spent 11 months undercover to stop a child prostitution ring. I’ve seen some horrible things happen to kids, but I’ve never seen any murdered so- so  _ violently _ .” You shook your head. “I’ve seen hundreds of pedophiles, but none of them got off on killing the kids. This is all new territory for me.”

“Guys, we have a lead,” Morgan said, storming into the conference room. “Raegen Emerson. Garcia just sent the address.”

“Then let’s go,” Hotch said. The team got up and ran to the cars. When you got to the cars, you called Garcia, who filled you in on Emerson. 

When you pulled up to the house, Morgan ran up to the door and kicked it in. 

“Raegen Emerson, FBI!” he yelled. “Don’t move!”

Unfortunately, the man started to run. Morgan and Hotch took off after him while you ran to the basement. You busted the lock on the makeshift cage and gently pulled the boy out. 

“It’s okay, sweetheart,” you said, holding him close and cradling his head after he wrapped his arms around your neck. “You’re safe, you’re safe. We’re gonna bring you home to your mommy and daddy, okay?”

~

You stood in the BAU’s kitchenette, pouring yourself your third giant mug of coffee of the day.

“You’re gonna have a heart attack if you keep drinking coffee like this,” Morgan said, walking up next to you. 

You rolled your eyes. “I’ll be fine, Morgan.” You took a sip and made your way back to your desk. 

“That’s your third cup before 9:30,” he said, taking his seat at the desk across from yours. “What’s going on?”

You shrugged. “Had a long night.”

“Boyfriend?” Prentiss asked, rolling her chair over to your desk.

You scoffed. “Em, you act like this job allows for something like that.”

“Nightmares,” Reid said, looking up from his book. “Right?”

“And the winner, to no surprise, is the genius over here,” you said. You shook your head and sipped your coffee. 

“Guys, round table, now,” JJ said, walking quickly through the bullpen. You and the others exchanged glances before heading into the room. 

~

_ Help! Help me! _

_ Hundreds of small voices saying the same thing. Screaming the same thing. There were too many. And you could only do so much. _

_ Hundreds of small voices calling for help, begging to be saved.  _

_ Save us! Save us… _

You woke with a start, panting and sweating. 

“Hey, are you okay?” Morgan asked you. You were on the jet on your way to the next case. 

You sighed. “Yeah. Yeah, I’m fine.” You rubbed your eyes. “I’m fine.”

Morgan sat up in his seat. “You know, (Y/N), you can talk to me. Whatever you say stays between us.”

“I said I’m  _ fine _ , Derek, okay? Just drop it.” You got up from your seat and walked over to the jet’s kitchen for coffee. 

Morgan sighed and rubbed his face. Rossi walked over and took your empty seat. 

“She’s intense,” Rossi said. “But then, she has every right to be, with all she’s seen.”

“I’m worried about her,” Morgan said. 

“She’s strong, Morgan,” Rossi said.

“She’s stubborn.”

“I know you guys are talking about me,” you said, coming back over with your mug of coffee. “And yes, I’m stubborn, yes I’m intense. But you would be too if you saw hundreds of kids forced into horrible situations every day for five years.” You walked over and sat with Spencer and Emily. 

Morgan looked at Rossi. Rossi just shrugged and opened his book. 

~

“You know,” Emily said while the two of you sat in your hotel room, “you were pretty harsh with Morgan.”

You shrugged. “He was getting in my business.”

“So was Reid, you weren’t harsh with him.”

“Well, Reid is… Reid. And, you know, Morgan is Morgan.” Emily raised her eyebrow at you. “What? Oh, come on, Em. We promised we wouldn’t profile each other!”

“Hey, it’s not profiling,” she defended herself. “It’s being your best friend.”

You scoffed and looked out the window. 

“Come on, (Y/N),” Emily said, “It’s not that hard to pick up. If it makes you feel better, I think he likes you, too.”

~

You decided to stay late after returning from a case. Everyone had gone home to get sleep, even Hotch and Rossi. You sat at your desk, holding a picture in your hand. 

“Who’s that?”

“Morgan! God, you scared me!” you said, turning the picture over on your desk. “I thought everyone left.”

“Yeah, well, I forgot my phone. Who’s that in the picture?”

You sighed. “No one.”

Morgan sat at his desk. “It’s obviously not no one,” he said. “Talk to me. What’s going on?”

You picked up the picture again. “Her name is Mia. She was my little sister.”

“Your little sister? You two look nothing alike.”

“Not-not like that. In high school, I was in a Brothers and Sisters program. We got paired together when she was in second grade.” You sniffled. “She, uh, she got grabbed off the street. In broad daylight. At school.” You wiped your eyes. “She’s the reason I joined the FBI, specifically CAC. I think about her every day.” You sniffled and wiped your eyes. “Sorry.”

“Hey, don’t apologize,” Morgan said, resting his hand on top of yours. He gave your hand a squeeze. “She clearly meant a lot to you. It’s okay to be emotional about it.” He chewed his lip before saying, “I lost my cousin. She had a stalker, and I was worried about her. I told her to move away and not tell us. She disappeared. I think about her all the time.” He took a deep breath. “I guess what I’m saying is, we all have our traumas. And sometimes it’s good for us to talk about them, even if it hurts.”

You smiled, your eyes still watery. “Thanks, Morgan.”

“Come on, I’ll walk you to the parking garage.”

  
~

“So, you wanna tell me what’s going on between you and (L/N)?” Penelope asked when Derek brought her a cup of coffee.

“What are you talking about?”

“Oh, come on, Morgan,” she said, “I know we have our thing, but the way you look at her-”

“Whoa, whoa, whoa. The way I look at her?”

JJ knocked on the doorframe to Penelope’s office. “Hey. Roundtable meeting.”

“Wait, Jayje, settle something for us,” Penelope said. “Morgan’s in love with (L/N): yes or no?”

“Oh, yes, definitely.”

“What? Oh, come on!”

“See, Morgan? I’m right about everything. Now, let’s go, JJ said we have a meeting.” 

~

You sighed and closed your file, rubbing your face. 

“You okay?” Reid asked you. 

“Another case with kids. I thought I would be done with these when I transferred. I saw enough kidnappings, child murders, and sex trafficking to last a lifetime.”

“I can imagine,” he said.

“I have nightmares about them,” you admitted. “All the children I can’t save. I hear their voices. They, uh, they scream for me to save them. But I can’t. There’s too many of them, and I just… can’t.” You groaned and rubbed your hands over your face. “Sorry. I know, we all have our issues.”

Spencer was silent for a few seconds. “You know, Morgan is a really good person to vent to about this stuff. When I was having nightmares after Hankel, he was there for me. Now, let’s go, before Hotch sends a search team looking for us.”

~

“Gordon Ackerman, FBI!” you yelled after you and the team broke into the farmhouse. The man started to run, and you took off after him. Morgan followed behind you while the others rescued the little girl. You ran after him, leaping to take him down. You pinned him to the ground, digging your elbow into his back. 

“Gordon Ackerman, you’re under arrest for the kidnappings and murders of Riley Nelson, Elenor Turner, and Delilah Thomas, as well as the kidnapping of Rebecca Peters.” You tightened the cuffs on him while reading him his rights.

When you and the team gathered back at the station for the interrogation, Rossi came up to you. 

“Hey. Good job, kid.”

“Thanks, Dad.” Everyone froze, and silence flowed through the group. “Yeah, I heard it, let’s move on, okay? I don’t feel like being psychoanalyzed right now.” 

Hotch cleared his throat. “Morgan, you and Rossi are going to head up the interrogation.”

“Yes, sir.”

~

You sat at your desk, writing up a report when your phone rang. “(L/N).”

“(L/N), can you come to my office for a moment?” Hotch asked through the phone. 

“Of course, sir. I’ll be right there.” You pushed away from your desk and made your way to Hotch’s office. You froze in the doorway. “Chief Strauss! Is everything okay?”

“Please, sit,” the stern woman said. You took the seat by Hotch’s desk. “Is everything alright? Did I do something wrong?”

“Oh, no,” Strauss assured you. “I’m here to offer you a job.”

“A job?”

“Yes. As the unit chief of Crimes Against Children.”

“Wait- what?”

“Agent Cole is resigning, and you were her top pick as her replacement. You have more experience than any other agent from that unit.”

You sat in silence, blinking rapidly and gaping at Strauss. “I-I don’t know what to say. Uh, can-can I have time to think about it?”

“Of course,” Strauss told you. “Take time to think it over. But please, think about it.”

“Uh, yes-yes ma’am, I will.”

Strauss walked out of the office and JJ poked her head in. “Sir? We’re ready.”

You and Hotch walked into the conference room. You took your seat and ignored the looks the others were giving you. You opened the file and turned your attention to JJ. 

The case was only a short drive away, unlike so many other cases you take. When the team was dismissed to the vans, you caught Hotch. 

“Hey,” you said, “uh, can I stay off this one? I just, I don’t think I’d be too helpful right now.”

“Of course,” Hotch said. Before leaving, he said, “Just for the record, I think you should take the job.”

You smiled. “Thanks, Hotch.”

~

You paced in Penelope’s office, ranting about your choice. 

“I can think of a whole bunch of reasons to do it, but I can also think of a bunch of reasons not to. What should I do, Pen?”

“Well,” she said, spinning around to face you. “Let’s think about it. I’ll list the pros, you list the cons. Pro, it’s a huge promotion for you.”

“Con, I’d be back with Crimes Against Children.”

“Pro, you wouldn’t have to see mutilated bodies regularly.”

“Con, I’d be seeing children in awful situations.”

“Pro, you’d be the boss.”

“Con, I’d miss you guys.”

“Aww. We’d miss you too, cupcake.” 

You sighed. “Thanks, Garcia. This helped a lot. “

After you left her office, Garcia called Morgan.

“Whatcha got, babygirl?” Morgan answered. 

“Morgan, you need to talk to (L/N).”

“What?”

“You need to talk to her, you need to tell her you’re in love with her.”

“Garcia-”

“She might be leaving the BAU, Derek! Strauss offered her a job, and I think she’s gonna take it.”

“She’s leaving the BAU?”

“Talk to her, Derek. You don’t want to regret not telling her how you feel.”

~

You sat at your desk, staring blankly at the papers littering the top. You held the picture of Mia in your hand, your thumb rubbing the frame. 

“Hey.” Morgan sat across from you.

“Oh. Hey, Morgan. Everyone else head home for the night?”

“Yeah. But Garcia told me about your job offer.”

You looked up. “I don’t know what to do. I thought about it all day and I just- I still don’t know.”

“When do you have to make your decision?”

“End of the week.” You sighed and set the picture down. “Katie recommended me specifically. What do I do, Derek?” You grabbed his hand. 

Derek looked at your glassy eyes. He felt his heart beat faster. He  _ hated  _ that Garcia was right, damnit. He just hoped you weren’t profiling him, because it would be so easy at that moment. 

“What does your heart tell you?” he asked, flipping his hand over so he was properly holding your hand.

“I don’t know.” Tears started falling down your face. 

“Hey, hey, hey,” Derek said, wiping your face with his thumb. “Don’t cry, you’ll make that pretty face of yours all red and puffy.” You huffed a laugh, making Derek smile. “There we go. There’s the (Y/N) I know.”

Rossi walked into the bullpen and groaned. “Is this still going on? Why won’t you idiots just admit you love each other?” You felt your face heat up and you looked down at your desk. “(L/N), Morgan loves you, he has for a while. Morgan, (L/N) loves you too. Now,  _ please _ , for my sanity, stop the pining and go get dinner together.” Rossi handed Morgan some money. “My treat. Just, stop this.” Rossi walked out of the BAU, leaving you and Morgan stunned. 

“So, you wanna take Rossi’s money and get dinner?” Morgan asked you.

“Derek Morgan, are you finally asking me out?”

Morgan chuckled and squeezed your hand. “Yeah, (Y/N) (L/N), I am.”

“Well, I’d love to go on a date with you.”

Derek smiled. “Let’s go, it’ll take your mind off the decision for a while.”

~

You walked into Hotch’s office the next morning, standing up straighter and smiling. You knocked on the door frame. “Hotch?”

“Oh, (L/N), come in.”

You sat in the chair across from his desk. “So, I thought about it,” you said. “Strauss’s offer. And I think I’m gonna take it. Don’t get me wrong, I  _ love  _ the BAU, you guys are like my family. But I feel like I’ll be better as the unit chief of the CAC.”

Hotch gave you his signature, rare smile. “You know you’ll always have a home with us.”

You smiled. “I know. Thank you, Hotch. For everything.” 

You got up to start your transfer paperwork. 

“Oh, and (L/N)?” You turned around to see Hotch. “Tell Morgan he needs to go see HR since he’s in a relationship with a superior.”


End file.
